The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) has hired John Cramer as its new chief information officer and the deputy executive officer of its IT Division. Cramer, whose first day at the board was Dec. 14, joins the board from the California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD), where he had been its CIO for nearly four years. His state career includes positions at the departments of Technology and Child Support Services; and at the California State Lottery. Prior to joining the state, Cramer’s private-sector experience included work at Hewlett Packard.
“CalVCB is delighted to have John on board, especially as we work toward building a new website and in light of the critical role IT has in our organization, with nearly all staff teleworking. CalVCB now has all the deputy division positions filled,” the board’s Executive Officer Lynda Gledhill said at its Dec. 17 meeting, according to meeting minutes.
Cramer replaces VCB’s former CIO Gary Arstein-Kerslake, who retired in late August 2020. The board mounted a recruitment via the state’s Cal Careers jobs website, a spokesperson said via email. A CSD representative confirmed via email that Cramer stepped down in mid-December and said Megan Rivers, the deputy director of its administrative services division, which oversees the IT unit, has stepped in as interim CIO. CSD closed a recruitment for its next CIO Dec. 17 and potential candidates are now being considered. Among the takeaways:
- Asked what his early priorities or projects might be at CalVCB, Cramer noted via email that the board’s entire executive team “has changed” during the last two years with his own hire “being the last."
“To support the vision of our new executive officer, my initial focus has been on re-establishing IT governance in coordination with the executive team. My staff and I are focused on delivering prioritized business value in an efficient, consistent delivery model,” he said. - CalVCB is, however, “already underway” on a redesign and re-platforming of its public website, Cramer said. That project, which is being completed with Web development company 10up, is expected to be delivered in May.
- The new CIO cited two examples of projects or initiatives he is proudest of completing at CSD, with the first being the transition of his development team. “When I left, the team had established a Continuous Integration and Continuous Development pipeline delivering four-week sprints including security analysis following Open Web Application Security Project top 10 protocols. They are a fully functioning Security Develop Operations unit,” Cramer said. The second, he added, was the focus of the entire department on security. “Our training efforts resulted in some of the highest phishing scores that the Department of Military had ever seen. This focus was supported at the highest levels, where our former director regularly spoke directly to this topic at our quarterly all-staff meetings,” he said.
